Metal File: Bloodsimple Testament & More – News Story | Music…

The News Review:

- Metal File: Bloodsimple Testament & More – News Story | Music…
- Canadian films a treat
- Not so silent films
- peratic voice balances ferocity
- ‘It shows both our war and not our war’
- The Listings: Feb. 2 – Feb. 8 – New York Times

Metal File: Bloodsimple Testament & More – News Story | Music…
MTV.com – Feb 2, 2007
That’s the true moment of a band’s career and determines whether a band makes it to that third record. “This is the hump right here” he continued. “I do think a lot of people will see our sound has truly evolved into our own brand of heavy music with this record. That’s what we set out to do. We really have come into our own on this record — that I can say with confidence. Whether or not it’s going to blow us up or take us to that next level remains to be seen… Joey Kamka drummer for Phoenix death-metal band Autumn’s End was severely injured when his motorcycle was hit by a drunk driver Sunday morning. Kamka flew into — and then over — the windshield of the truck fracturing his skull and severing his right ear and brain stem in the process according to a statement from the band’s management. Three days after intensive surgery Kamka was still in the hospital in grave condition. “He’s fightin’ hard right now and it’s stacked against him” bassist El wrote on the band’s MySpace page. “But if you know Joey like I do you know he’s one of the toughest SBs around and one of the most stubborn.

Canadian films a treat
tonight.co.za – Feb 2, 2007
This meditation on nature and nurture deals with our attempts to separate from our parents which ironically often brings us closer to aping their behaviour. New Waterford Girl (English with French subtitles)Set in damp windswept Nova Scotia in the 1970s the film centres on the attempts of a young woman to flee the constraints of small-town life. Metal – A Headbanger’s Journey (English with subtitles)This intelligent and humourous documentary charts the history and myriad forms of heavy metal music globetrotting from a bacchanalian German musical festival on to the creepier Norwegian death metal scene. Interviews with musicians seamlessly mingle with those of fans to make a case for metal to be considered more than just “the bastard stepchild of the airwaves”… This meditation on nature and nurture deals with our attempts to separate from our parents which ironically often brings us closer to aping their behaviour. New Waterford Girl (English with French subtitles)Set in damp windswept Nova Scotia in the 1970s the film centres on the attempts of a young woman to flee the constraints of small-town life. Metal – A Headbanger’s Journey (English with subtitles)This intelligent and humourous documentary charts the history and myriad forms of heavy metal music globetrotting from a bacchanalian German musical festival on to the creepier Norwegian death metal scene. Interviews with musicians seamlessly mingle with those of fans to make a case for metal to be considered more than just “the bastard stepchild of the airwaves”.

Not so silent films
Downtown Express – Feb 2, 2007
It’s hard to imagine that this is hardly the way that silent films were meant to be seen. In the era of movie palaces and day-long moviegoing silent films were brought to life thanks to a live musical score performed by orchestras in the cities and organists in rural theaters. As the music matched the action on-screen there was a sense of something spontaneous and kinetic occurring. In recent years the art of composing music for silent films and performing this music for live audiences has enjoyed something of a revival thanks to an annual tradition at the Telluride Film Festival. Each year the festival brings back a lesser-known or under-appreciated silent film and for the past 15 years the event has invited back the same musical group to conceive compose and perform a score for the movie: The Alloy rchestra. Comprised of director and film restorer Ken Winokur vocalist and junk percussionist Terry Donahue and keyboardist Roger Miller (who also plays with the punk-rock band Mission of Burma) the group is best known for its unusual collection of percussion instruments — found metal objects which they have dubbed the “rack of junk” that gives the group a sound unlike any other orchestra on the planet. “It’s a modern sound” says Miller “And it offers a modern twist to this old form that audiences have really connected with… In recent years the art of composing music for silent films and performing this music for live audiences has enjoyed something of a revival thanks to an annual tradition at the Telluride Film Festival. Each year the festival brings back a lesser-known or under-appreciated silent film and for the past 15 years the event has invited back the same musical group to conceive compose and perform a score for the movie: The Alloy rchestra. Comprised of director and film restorer Ken Winokur vocalist and junk percussionist Terry Donahue and keyboardist Roger Miller (who also plays with the punk-rock band Mission of Burma) the group is best known for its unusual collection of percussion instruments — found metal objects which they have dubbed the “rack of junk” that gives the group a sound unlike any other orchestra on the planet. “It’s a modern sound” says Miller “And it offers a modern twist to this old form that audiences have really connected with. ”It was a sound that first came together in 1991 at a Boston art house theater as the orchestra mixed that modern percussive sound with synthesizers keyboards drums clarinet accordion and vocals for a showing of the Fritz Lang masterpiece “Metropolis. ” As the crowds for subsequent “Metropolis” screenings grew word spread about the group leading to annual appearances at Telluride which brought them to the attention of film buffs like Roger Ebert who hailed them as “the best in the world at accompanying silent films. ” Soon after movie studios silent film collectors and art house curators took note of their compositions.

peratic voice balances ferocity
The Age – Feb 2, 2007
But the dark angry themes of alienation oppression hypocrisy andArmageddon – not to mention the spacey soundscapes and spectacularvisuals and lightshow – have more in common with the atmosphericconcept rock of Pink Floyd. The songs may build up through layered sinewy textures intoferocious squalling explosions of pounding metal but thataggression is counter-balanced by Keenan’s tender operatic voiceand emotional philosophical lyrics. So there was a larger spreadof women than you usually find at a metal gig. The show featured fewer hits than their headline Big Day utsets; and selling out in less than an hour this was one for thehard-core fans. Tool opened to a deafening roar with the one-two punch ofStinkfist and Forty Six and 2 off their bestalbum 1996′s Aenima. The title track and Schismfrom 2001′s Lateralus soared but material fromUndertow was sadly lacking. The show plodded a bit formuch of the last half as the band eked out the more sculpturedsoundscapes from its morbid recent album 10000 Dayswhich is largely a lament on the slow death of Keenan’s mother… Tool opened to a deafening roar with the one-two punch ofStinkfist and Forty Six and 2 off their bestalbum 1996′s Aenima. The title track and Schismfrom 2001′s Lateralus soared but material fromUndertow was sadly lacking. The show plodded a bit formuch of the last half as the band eked out the more sculpturedsoundscapes from its morbid recent album 10000 Dayswhich is largely a lament on the slow death of Keenan’s mother. Watching him exorcise his inner turmoil was hard going for a whilebut during Rosetta Stone it was easy to get lost in theimages of Egypt’s font of knowledge and pyramids. It was a depressing way to end the mind-blowing journey but notnearly as bleak as it would have been if the guy who decided toclimb up the cables on to the Bowl’s canopy had decided to attemptthe mother of all stage dives.

‘It shows both our war and not our war’
guardian.co.uk – Feb 2, 2007
He insists there is nothing wrong with making an American-style Russian war movie. “I’m a mainstream director. My background is in music videos and commercials” he says speaking at his offices in Mosfilm Moscow’s vast and currently snow-encrusted film studio. Bondarchuk turns up for our meeting 40 minutes late; outside his room aspirant actors leaf through copies of Russian Playboy; his secretarial staff go off to the corridor for a quick smoke. “My inspiration for 9th Company was Ridley Scott and Black Hawk Down” Bondarchuk says in American-accented English. There is very little politics in The 9th Company. Mikhail Gorbachev and perestroika get the briefest of mentions when the recruits listen to the radio on New Year’s Eve days before their ill-fated last battle… The recruits’ job was to defend the narrow gullies used by Soviet convoys to supply far-flung garrisons. During two-and-a-half days of fighting six Russian soldiers were killed and 12 were injured. In Bondarchuk’s version the mujahideen advance first world war-style in serried ranks eventually overwhelming the recruits in an avalanche of death. Alexander Lyakhovsky is a Soviet general who fought in Afghanistan and he was less than impressed with the verisimilitude of the fighting. “There are too many special effects that make the film look like Rambo” he says. “The 9th Company shows the bravery of both soldiers and officers. But it is too simple.

The Listings: Feb. 2 – Feb. 8 – New York Times
New York Times – Feb 2, 2007
Jones and his dancers like to provoke thought as well as enjoyment of the companys high-powered performing. This engagement features Another Evening I Bow Down set to live music by Daniel Bernard Roumain that blends funk heavy metal hip-hop and classical influences. Tomorrow at 7:30 p.